Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Healthcare, Basic Materials and Technology sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Financials and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.06%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.05%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.04%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which rose 0.86% or 0.56 points to trade at 66.02 at the close. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) added 0.85% or 1.58 points to end at 186.50 and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was up 0.84% or 1.14 points to 136.05 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which fell 1.22% or 2.72 points to trade at 219.77 at the close. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 0.94% or 0.72 points to end at 75.52 and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) was down 0.83% or 0.23 points to 27.55.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) which rose 8.57% to 50.30, Staples Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS) which was up 6.24% to settle at 9.20 and CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX) which gained 4.62% to close at 62.50.
The worst performers were Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) which was down 3.96% to 122.08 in late trade, Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (NYSE:DPS) which lost 3.63% to settle at 92.30 and Willis Towers Watson PLC (NASDAQ:WLTW) which was down 2.39% to 145.05 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Sphere 3D Corp (NASDAQ:ANY) which rose 58.47% to 0.256, FalconStor Software Inc (NASDAQ:FALC) which was up 53.85% to settle at 0.380 and EnerNOC Inc (NASDAQ:ENOC) which gained 41.67% to close at 7.65.
The worst performers were DryShips Inc (NASDAQ:DRYS) which was down 33.41% to 2.83 in late trade, Marathon Patent Group Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) which lost 27.54% to settle at 0.220 and Top Ships Inc (NASDAQ:TOPS) which was down 21.95% to 0.1600 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1901 to 1328 and 30 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1440 rose and 1054 declined, while 119 ended unchanged.
Shares in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) rose to all time highs; rising 8.57% or 3.97 to 50.30. Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose to all time highs; gaining 0.85% or 1.58 to 186.50. Shares in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose to all time highs; rising 0.84% or 1.14 to 136.05. Shares in EnerNOC Inc (NASDAQ:ENOC) rose to 52-week highs; rising 41.67% or 2.25 to 7.65. Shares in Top Ships Inc (NASDAQ:TOPS) fell to all time lows; down 21.95% or 0.0450 to 0.1600.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.79% to 10.45.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.46% or 5.76 to $1251.56 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 0.47% or 0.20 to hit $42.73 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 0.89% or 0.40 to trade at $45.22 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.14% to 1.1152, while USD/JPY fell 0.07% to 111.31.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.03% at 97.25.